Dynamo Elizabeth Warren Battles Against Government Ripoff Of Veterans, Seniors

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is a powerhouse taking on the Senate. She is appalled Congress is trying to save money on the backs of veterans, people with disabilities, and seniors. Every January 1st, people dependent upon Social Security for their livelihood are supposed to get a small cost-of-living increase in their monthly checks.

Warren introduced a bill to provide them a one-time payment of approximately $581. She says:

“Seniors and Veterans Emergency Benefits Act – to give retirees, veterans, and Americans with disabilities a one-time payment of about $581. That’s the equivalent of a 3.9% increase over the average Social Security benefit – the same percentage raise that America’s top CEOs received last year.”

Warren, along with 19 other Democrat senators, brought the bill to the floor. She continues:

“Unless Congress does something right now, for just the third time since 1975, seniors and veterans won’t be receiving any cost-of-living increase on January 1st. Not one penny more…

“For those 70 million people – one in five Americans – January 1st is supposed to be a day of relief. This is the day when the federal government boosts their checks just a little bit to help with the rising costs of housing, food, and medical care.”

The recipients include those who have come home wounded from Mid-eastern wars, and they see their living costs rise dramatically. The tool the government uses to measure cost-of-living increases is outdated. Senator and presidential candidate Bernie Sanders cosponsors the bill:

“It is unacceptable that millions of senior citizens and disabled veterans did not receive a cost-of-living adjustment this year to keep up with their rising living expenses. At a time when senior poverty is going up and more than two-thirds of the elderly population rely [sic] on Social Security for more than half of their income, our job must be to expand, not cut, Social Security.”